Drawer construction for filing cabinets



. mi i .l\m3,193o,3`- UNTER- 1,761,303

. DRAWER CONSTRUCTION FO Filed Oct. 1

, Zener/fop "June'3, 1930. D. E. HNTER 1,751,303

I DRAWER CONSTRUCTION FOR FILING' ABINETS I Filed oct. is. 192e '2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented June 3, 1930 UNITED 7,srATEs PATENT OFFICE i DAVID E. HUNTER, OF MUS'KEGON, MICHIGAN, ASSIG-NOR TO SHAW-WALKER COMPANY,

OF'MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN DRAWER CONSTRUCTION FOR FILING CABINETS Application led October 18, `1928. Serial No. 142,173.

This invention relates to improvements in drawer construction for iling cabinets, and more particularly to a drawer consisting of v a main section and an auxiliary section movable relative to said main' section when the latteris extended from closed position.l

The object of the invention is to provide a novel means for mounting the auxiliary Y section ofV the drawer forvsliding movement 1n relative to both the cabinet and main drawer section, thus enabling the contents of the latter to be readily accessible by sliding the auxiliary section into the cabinet when the main section is extended.

Apreferred construction for adrawer embodying a novel mounting calculated to afford the movement herein-above set forth, is disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in

. which v y p Figure 1 is a view. in vertical section of asection of Va filing cabinet showing the general constructionv of a drawer,

Figure 2 isa view in vertical section of a cabinet showingv the drawers in different positions, and I y .Figure .3 is a view in cross section through a drawer compartment as taken on line 3 3 ofyFigurel. The complete cabinet consists ofthe usual 3o uprightv casing,divided vinto several compartments in which the mounted.- y f The details of construction of the casing are notof any particular importance, since drawers are slidably e5 filing cabinets and like `devices are generally .of similar design, although differingin the materials and specic structure.` In the present disclosure a'- fire-'proof construction has been shown, consisting of an outer sheet metal 40 shell Yor casing l, surrounding an inner casing of va suitablereinforced insulating material which forms thek wallsfQ- of the several drawer compartments. However, the features of the present invention are applicable to allfmetal Acabinets as well as those constructed of wood. Similarly; the/[drawers 3 are disclosed. as beingofmetal construction, having a sheet metal body 3, forming the bottom side and rear walls and a composite yfront wallf,l of

t0 metal .and illsulating4 material not unlike the construction of the cabinet. Then side and rear end walls of the drawer body are con` siderably less in height than the front wall 3, so that the depth of the drawer is `only about one-half the height of the drawer compartment. p

Mounted in the space aboveV the drawer body just described, is a relatively shallow` auxiliary or insert drawer 4 also Vconstructed of sheet metal and having bottom, side and front and rear end walls. This drawer is slightly shorter than the main drawer rbody 3 and its height is such as to occupy the re? maining space of the drawer compartment above the body of the main drawer. The for ,65 ward end wall of the auxiliary drawerv differs, from the remaining wallsonly in that it has a .downwardly facing channel extending along its upper edge, to provide a handle forsliding the drawer forwardly..y

Both sections of the drawers mayy be equipped with suitable ilingfdevices, such as a card indexer a series of alphabetically arranged guide cards, depending on the use to which the drawers are to be put. The aux l'75 iliary drawer, however, would ordinarily be used for a card index, due to its 'shallowness, whereas the main drawer space below may be used either for correspondence or cards, depending on the depth of the space available. Referring now to the manner of mounting the drawers in the cabinet, the main drawer section is provided along itsopposite sides withtrack plates 5 5, consisting oi metal strips located midway betweenthe top and bottom of the drawer` body, having their lower edges bent outwardly at right angles to form a track flange 5f. Secured to side walls of the drawer compartment are tracks 6 6, extending the full lengthof the compartment 9o and a short distance above the track plates f 5 5 of the drawer. VThe tracks secured to the Vcabinet consist of metal plates having track flanges 6 6, along theirv upper edges.

Intermediate vthe adjacent pairs of track members 5 5 `and 6 6 are located extension slide members 7 7, consisting generally of angle bars 7, which support-sets of ball bearings 7 b, which engage the trackflanges 5l and `6, and move bodily with the bar 7. `These 100 extension slides form the intermediate support betweenthe drawer and the cabinet,

their purpose being to allow the drawer to be extended its full length from the cabinet. 5 Since such extension slides are common in filing cabinets, further details of their construction, such as stops and locking devices, need not be considered.

Referring now to the mountingrof the auxiliary drawer 4, provision is made for slidably supporting the same on both the main drawer section and the side walls of the drawer compartment. Near the front and rear ends of the auxiliary drawer are mounted pairs ofrollers 8 8 and 9 9, one pair 8 8, being located near the lower edge of the drawer and adjacent the ends thereof, whereas the other pair 9 9, is located near the upper edge and inwardly from the ends. These rollers are plain metal discs turning on pintles 8a and 9a, supported in brackets 8h and 9b respectively, spot welded to the side walls of the auxiliary drawer. Along the upper edges of the side walls of the main drawer body 3 are track plates 10-10, havin flanges 10 1Oa extending laterally just be ow the top edges which are preferably rolled to form marginal beads, and terminating just short of the front wall 3a. Secured to the side wall of the drawer compartment and above the'main drawer supporting tracks 6 6 is another pair of tracks 1l l1, also having track'anges 1l 11, extending laterally toward the auxiliary drawer. These last mentioned tracks extend rearwardly from a point just inwardly from the front of the drawer compartment and support the upper pairs of rollers 9 9, on the auxiliary drawer 4, by rolling contact with the upper o surfaces of the track flanges 11. The lower pair of rollers on the other hand, roll on the tracks 10 10 lon the main drawer section, so that the auxiliary drawer has support on both or either the main drawer or the cabinet,

depending on the relative positions of the drawer sections. a

It is obvious that when the main drawer section is closed, that the auxiliary drawer occupies its normal position above the main drawer with their rear end walls in the same vertical plane, and with both sets of rollers resting on their respective tracks as shown in Figure 1. When the main drawer is pulled out` the auxiliary drawer is free to move forwardly with it, but in its forward movement the upper pair of rollers at the front endv immediately leave the tracks 11-11, so that the entire weight of the front endo the auxiliary drawer is carried by the main drawer. The same is true of the corresponding pair of rollers at the rear end, which leave the fixed tracks 11 11 in the cabinetwhen the both drawers are carried .'forwarV their/full distance, in which posivtion (as `shown 'in Figure V2) the auxiliary drawer is supported entirely on the main drawer tracks 10-10. When the drawer sections are thus extended, and without any relative movement between the drawer sections, access may be had to the contents of the auxiliary drawer, but not to the contents of the main drawer, and hence the reason for the double set of supporting rollers and tracks, which permits the auxiliar drawer to be pushed rearwardly and into t e cabinetl Figure 2, lower drawer) While` the main drawer remains extended. In this movement the auxiliary drawer slides on and is supported by the fixed tracks on the side wal-ls of the cabinet and entirely free from the main drawer.

Thus it is seen that both drawers can be withdrawn as a unit when access to the auxiliary drawer is only desired, 'or the same can be pushed back into the cabinet independently of the extended main drawer and from which position the main drawer can be closed without interfering with the auxiliary drawer. f

In this manner a single drawer can be divided into two parts or sections, thus making use of the entire space of the drawer, and in such a'wav as to make' each section equally accessible. oreover, it provides forl convenient and economical disposition ofV card indexes, inasmuch as a single cabinet can be l'ilized for both correspondence and card es. i

I claim as my invention:

1. In a filing device, the combination with a drawer compartment, of a main drawer, means for slidably supporting said main drawer in said compartment, an auxiliary drawer having sets of rollers adjacent each end, tracks on opposite sides of said compartment and adapted to be en aged by one set of said rollers tojsupport sai auxiliary drawer independently of said main drawer when both are in closed position, said main drawer having tracks adapted to be engaged by the other set of rollers in the movement of Said auxiliary drawer into and out of saidfcompartment when said main drawer is in open position.

2. In a filing cabinet, the combinationwith a single drawer compartment, a main drawer mounted for sliding movement into and out of said compartment and comprising a head forming a closure lfor said compartment' in said closed position, and a relatively low rear wall, an auxiliary drawer slidably mounted in said drawer compartment .above the top edge of 'said rear wall and provided with two sets of rollers, tracks mounted along the sides of said compartment and adapted to be engaged by one set of rollers to slidably su port said auxiliary drawer independently o said main drawer, and tracks mounted on said main drawer and adapted to be engaged by .the other set of rollersto permit said auxiliarydrawer to slide into and out of closed position when said mam drawer 1s 1n open position.

3. In a ling cabinet, the combination with a drawer compartment of a main drawer slidably mounted in said compartment, an auxiliary drawer also slidably mounted in said compartment, means for supporting said auxiliary drawer independently of saidmain drawer to permit the latter to be freely opened and closed without moving the former from closed position, and coacting supporting means on said drawers to permit said auxiliary drawer to be opened and closed while said main drawer is in open position.

4C. In a filing cabinet, the combination with a drawer compartmentof a main drawer slidablyV mounted in said compartment, an auxiliary drawer also slidably mounted `in said compartment and independently of said main drawer through the median of coacting tracks and rollers, said main drawer having supporting members adapted to be engaged by the forward portion of said auxiliary drawer to permit the free movement of the same into and out of said compartment whensaid main drawer is open.

5. In a filing cabinet, the combination with a compartment of a main drawer slidably mounted into and out of said compartment,4

an auxiliary drawer also mounted in said compartment, tracks in said compartment, rollers on said auxiliary drawer engaging said tracks to support the same independently of said main drawer when both are in closed position, and tracks mounted on said mainv drawer and adapted tobe engaged by rollers at the forward end of said auxiliary drawer and adapted to support the adjacent end portion thereof in its movement into and out of closed position when said main drawer is l open.

Signed at Muskegon, Mich., this 11th day of October, 1926.

DAVID E. HUNTER. 

